The Return of Special Forces Queen novel Chapter 25

"What's wrong with that? I just want to maximize our profits. It's good for the company, and it's good for our family!" Carter argued.

Family? That word used to mean everything to her. She had married him precisely because she wanted to belong to a family again.

But ultimately, she realized he could never give her one.

"If I hadn't saved his life today, would you still be begging me to come back?" she asked.

"You're the lady of the house; you can return to the company whenever you want."

"Then can I also announce to the entire company that I'm your wife?" she challenged, raising an eyebrow.

Carter fell silent. After a long pause, he finally said, "We agreed to keep the marriage under wraps for now and announce it when the time is right."

"Because if we announced it now, the whole company would know you've been cheating on me, right? Everyone knows Yolande is the love of your life, yet no one knows we're actually married," she pointed out bluntly.

He bristled. "Do you have to make things so difficult?"

"I'm not trying to make things difficult, which is exactly why I'm not going back to your company," she replied. "Besides, I already told him at the track: if he really wants to repay me, he can fund a Hope Foundation School. So don't hold your breath expecting me to beg him to invest in Grayson Tech!"

Humiliated and furious, Carter gave her the silent treatment for the rest of the night.

The next day, Jocelyn went to Lana's office to finalize her start date, agreeing to officially begin work after she brought her parents' ashes back to their hometown for burial.

During lunch, she happened to check her phone and saw a new photo on Jeannie's social media feed. It showed a man's hands gently holding a bowl of soup, carefully scooping up a spoonful.

The caption read: *My brother making soup for his future wife. Smells amazing!*

Looking at the soup, Jocelyn immediately understood what Carter had been so busy doing in the kitchen that morning.

When she had been deathly ill, running a 104-degree fever and barely able to get out of bed, he had simply told her he was busy with work and that she needed to take care of herself.

As soon as her fever broke slightly, he demanded she come into the office to handle an emergency.

A man in a tailored suit stepped out and gave her a respectful nod. "Ms. Quinn, I'm Wyatt, Mr. Barrett's secretary. He wishes to thank you for saving his life and formally invites you to lunch."

"No need. I already told him the other day—if he wants to thank me, he can fund a school," she said dismissively. She walked straight to her own car, opened the door, and got in.

Half an hour later, she arrived at the columbarium. She stared through the glass at her parents' urn.

It was respectfully draped in the national flag.

"Mom, Dad, I originally thought he owed you an apology. I wanted him to come here and say he was sorry... but there's no point anymore, is there?" she murmured softly.

The quiet, still air was her only response.

Pressing her palms together, she bowed her head in deep reverence.

"Just wait a little longer. I'll take you back home soon," she promised.